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  • Lifestyle factors continue to be the primary motivation for vacation-home buyers, with the desire for rental income driving investment purchases. Vacation homes were more likely to be located in a rural area, while investment homes were more likely to be in a suburban location.
  • Vacation-home buyers want the property for their own personal use, with 84 percent saying the primary reason for buying was to use for vacations or as a family retreat. Rental income generation was the primary motive for investment buyers. At the same time, nearly half indicated they sought to diversify their investments or saw a good investment opportunity.
  • Thirty-four percent of vacation-home buyers said they plan to use the property as a primary residence in the future, as did 10 percent of investment buyers.
  • Twenty-one percent of investment buyers and 14 percent of vacation buyers purchased the property for a family member, friend or relative to use.
  • The 2011 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey can be downloaded here:  http://www.realtor.org/prodser.nsf/Research